Girl Next Door
by sissyHIYAH
Summary: Hi!  My name is Zone and I'm using sissyHIYAH's account to publish a few stories I submitted to my favorite magazine, Girl Next Door.    Just don't tell Quistis that I kinda...based some of these stories on her.  Seriously.  Don't tell her.  Please?
1. Chapter 1

**Save_A_Horse:** u owe me big. had 2 fight a bunch of trepies for these

**Shivafan1:** sweet. how much do i owe?

**Save_A_Horse:** selphie kicked my ass. u don't have enough.

**Shivafan1**: she caught u?

**Save_A-Horse:** threatened 2 cut my dick off.

**Shivafan1:** pictures?

**Save_A_Horse**: of my dick?

**Shivafan1**: NO asshole. from the magazine. the ladies

**Save_A_Horse**: yep

**Shivafan1:** sweet. glad you got em in time

**Save_A_Horse:** coming over? q said she is 2

**Shivafan1:** ...

**Save_A_Horse:** i hid the mags. don't worry

**Shivafan1:** ...

**Save_A_Horse**: selphie won't tell either.

**Shivafan1**: so she doesn't know i wrote those stories?

**Save_A_Horse:** not unless u tell her, casanova. might be for the best anyway. she'll see those pics one day 4 sure.

**Shivafan1:** shut up. they said they'd be tasteful

**Save_A_Horse**: they're tasteful, alright. yummy, if u ask me

**Shivafan1**: hyne help me

**Save_A_Horse:** well, ur fault 4 writing porn

**Shivafan1:** i didn't know they'd illustrate my stories!

**Save_A_Horse:** sure, sure. so u coming tonight or not?

**Shivafan1**: feel kinda sick now

**Save_A_Horse:** she'll be flattered, i reckon, if u tell her b4 she finds out another way

**Shivafan1:** or she'll kill me

**Save_A_Horse:** there are worse ways 2 go then being strangled by that filly

**Shivafan1**: hell. call u later.

_ -Shivafan1 has signed out-_

* * *

><p>Note: Because I like the idea of Zone having a major crush on Quistis, he used my pen name to submit these to <em>Girl Next Door<em>. The poor lad had no idea that they were going to illustrate them, so now he's got to find a way to keep Quistis from finding out that he's a pervert.

This is just a series of drabbles submitted to ff_yuri_drabble on livejournal. I'm very fond of some of these and thought I'd share them here. Most are FFVIII based, though there are a few from other FF titles and a scattering of crossovers here. Skip to chapter 9 if you want to get right to the ones dedicated to VIII, but many of these are crossovers that tie into later VIII-centered drabbles. I tried to divide them according to game and character, and for the ones that show up frequently, like the Quistis-centered drabbles, I arranged them by tone.

Er...Zone did, that is.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sway_

Fandom: FFVII  
>Pairing: TifaAerith  
>Prompt: Hypnosis<br>Words: 466  
>Rating: TPG13

I think it's her tits.

Massive, really, when one considers that they are really nothing more than bags designed to feed infants. No matter how many children are starving in the streets of Midgar, there is no reason for her tits to be so big. It's not as if she can feed them all anyway.

Barrett has walked with a limp since that last chilly rain shower, when the glory of Tifa and her miracle-fiber tee-shirt was on full display. The rain fell down, the nips perked up, and it was curtain call for the male members of our happy little crew.

That cannon on his arm isn't the only thing fully loaded.

It's like he can do a damned thing unless she tells him to. Pathetic, really.

Then there's Vincent, who really should know better after his last stint as a mindless drone, but then again, he seems to have a thing for long hair.

Yeah, it's her hair. Has to be.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...

Tick, tock, tick, tock...

She couldn't wear it in a simple braid, could she? Oh no!

No, Miss Tifa No-Bra feels the need to wear her hair in that...that loose...that...

God, I want to wrap my fingers in her hair and _pull _just so I can see if she feels the same thing the rest of us feel when she walks in front of us, all swinging and thick and brushing the backs of her thighs just where...

I swear by all things holy, I think the girl is made of sway.

Why else would she insist on walking at the head of our little pack, just beside Cloud? All hips and ass and that little dip in her flesh where her shorts are _almost _too tight? It's not as if he's even looked at her since we picked her up at that dive, so she has to know that we're just following behind...panting like little bitches in heat.

Does she not know the power she holds? Thank the Ancients that I can only see her body and not her eyes. I'd be lost forever.

God! I can't take this anymore! If I stay behind her much longer, I'll end up doing whatever she asks, whenever she asks, for the rest of my life!

"Hey guys! Hold up! Wait for me!"

"Umm, hi Aerith...umm, is there something you need?"

"Hey, so when do you think we should stop at an inn? My feet are starting to really hurt and..."

"You know Tifa, that does sound like a good idea. Maybe we should listen to Aerith."

"What? You were just saying that..."

"I know, but she said we should so..."

Take that, bitch.

You're not the only one that knows how to swing a pendulum.


	3. Chapter 3

_A Toast_

Fandom: FFIX  
>Pairing: BeatrixQueen Brahne  
>Rating: T<br>Prompt: Holy  
>Word Count: 200<em><br>_Note: There had to be something about Queen Brahne that made Beatrix such a loyal soldier. She's not the type of gal to follow just anyone.

Oh, don't act so timid.  
>It's not as if I've challenged you to a duel. You'd be right to quiver like a worm on a hook if that were the case. I once killed a hundred knights single-handedly...but this? 'Tis fairy wine and nothing more.<br>Well, if you won't drink it, then I will.  
>Cheers, then.<br>To what?  
>Hm. Excellent question. To what, indeed...<br>To death? To fate? To honor?  
>To what?<br>Girl, do you know what you are saying right now?  
>A gift from the heavens? Holy? I'd call it a curse.<br>What? No, never mind me. I have a tendency to become rather theatric when deep in drink.  
>Come, girl! Give me something to toast! Something to celebrate! You come from the mountains, don't you? I can hear it in your voice. Tell me! What do your people hold precious? We'll toast to that! Is it war? Loyalty? Victory?<br>Again?  
>Of course I have. That's why I call you a fool.<br>Aye, I've known it.  
>I wish to never know it again.<br>Hm.  
>Well, I suppose that's true. What are other vows if love isn't a...<br>To love, then! And damn it for making slaves of us all!

* * *

><p><em>Eat Me<em>

Fandom: FFIX  
>Pairing: QuinaBeatrix  
>Rating: I don't know. Implied oral sex earns a what? PG? PG-13?<br>Word Count: 100  
>Prompt: Unexpected<br>Note: It just isn't fair that poor Quina never gets laid. And Beatrix strikes me as a very practical sort of gal, one who would take advantage of whatever she encountered.  
>-<p>

Eat me!  
>That what she told me.<br>Eat me!  
>I try eat her.<br>She get mad.  
>She say I bite too hard.<br>I say that happen when I eat.  
>She say it again.<br>Eat me!  
>She say tongue too long to put to waste.<br>I say pretty Beatrix better to look at than eat.  
>She get mad again.<br>She say make her moan with tongue.  
>I say I too hungry.<br>She say make her beg with tongue.  
>I say it time to make pie.<br>Eat me!  
>I no understand.<br>She get mad again.  
>She eat me instead.<br>Mmm.  
>Eat me...<p>

* * *

><p><em>Roses<em>

Fandom: FF IX  
>Pairing: Queen BrahneBeatrix  
>Rating: T<br>Words: 200  
>Prompt: Cold<p>

_Oh, I'm so very proud of my girls. So very proud indeed. Lovely and brutal, every last one of them. All bound to me and my desires.  
>Loyal. Oh yes, they're all loyal.<br>Fearsome. Oh yes, none can defeat them. They are too fierce, too wild.  
>Beautiful. That one in particular...oh, she is a beauty. Oh my...<br>All of that sweat...  
>I want to see her move like that again. Excellent. Her body is magnificent.<br>Yes, deeper. Deeper. Slide the blade deeper into that soft flesh, make her shiver and jump.  
>Wait. What is she...?<em>  
>"Beatrix!"<br>"Yes, my queen?"  
>"Ignore the blood."<br>"I do beg your pardon, but it seems I've injured my sparring partner."  
>"Had that idiot been faster, she would have never felt your blade. Leave her."<br>"Your highness, I..."  
>"No. Ignore her. She cries because she's weak and she's no match for you."<br>"She's bleeding so much..."  
>"I want only the most beautiful of roses in my garden, all soft, curled petals and delicate scents. I do not wish for my personal guard to be full of spindly stems and broken flowers."<br>"She's not broken yet, your majesty."  
>"She's broken enough, my lovely little rose. Leave her."<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

_Kiss_

Fandom: FFX-2

Pairing: Paine/Leblanc

Word Count: 100

Rating: M

"No, this won't do either." Paine wiped her mouth and tossed another tube of lipstick to the side.  
>"Well?"<br>"I'm still looking for the right shade."  
>Leblanc rolled her eyes and shifted on the bed. She was tired of waiting. "I said I liked the red."<br>"Well, it isn't the right color for me."  
>"I said it works."<br>"And I said no."  
>Both growled and clenched their fists. Every evening before dinner, it was the same fight.<br>"Red, Paine."  
>"No."<br>"It's going to end up on my lips anyway, so it's not like anyone is even going to see it..."

* * *

><p><em>Sharp Edges<em>

Fandom: FFX  
>Pairing: LuluPaine  
>Prompt: Sharp Edges<br>Word count: 500  
>Rating: PG<p>

Lulu held the blade to Paine's throat, felt the hammer of her pulse through the steel, the beat and the flow and the warmth and the thump. "I can't."  
>Paine rolled her head back and leaned into the cushion of Lulu's more-than-ample chest. "You can. I need you to do it for me."<br>She was so close and she was begging. It would be so easy, just a quick slash or two, maybe three if the blade was dull, but she was Lulu and no blade of hers would ever be dull. That simply wasn't how she did things. "No. It's not right."  
>"Who gives a fuck? Just do it."<br>"You don't understand. This goes against everything that I've learned since..."  
>Paine closed her eyes. "I told you to fucking do it. It won't hurt me."<br>"But it will certainly hurt me."  
>"Then I'll be sorry for you when you do it. Until that happens, I can't feel bad for you."<br>The mirror before them laughed when it realized that it was able to reflect such a delicious argument.  
>"So it doesn't matter to you that I'll be miserable? That I will have to live with this for the rest of my life?"<br>Paine reached behind her and squeezed Lulu's hand, drawing the blade to her temple even as she tried to comfort the reluctant mage. "No. I want it done and you're the one. You're the only one I trust to do it."  
>"But..."<br>The blade quivered, hesitant and scared and so very, very unwilling.  
>"Do it."<br>"I can't. I just can't. Once it's done, there's no turning back."  
>"So? "<br>"Some things are permanent. Some things can never be undone."  
>A long held breath was exhaled in a rush and Paine smiled. "Exactly. I can't be like you, holding on to something for so long, just because I'm afraid to change. Now do it."<br>"Are you sure?"  
>"Very."<br>Lulu swallowed once, twice, then pulled the blade, wincing even as the edge sliced through Paine's pulse and power.  
>Dark hair fell to the floor in dizzy ringlets, all eager to be the first to meet the whiskered kiss of the broom.<br>"There." Lulu looked at the blades in her hands and thought she might be sick. Paine had such wonderful fairy hair, ebony absinthe that smelled of night and shadow, but now she was shorn to nearly nothing. "It's done."  
>Paine opened her eyes and looked into that laughing mirror, smiling at what she saw. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."<br>Lulu threw the scissors on the counter and tucked her hands in her sleeves. "Don't ever ask me to do this again."  
>Paine laughed and grabbed one of Lulu's braids, jerking the mage down for a rough kiss. Tongue touched tongue, then she pushed her away, grinning at the disgusted expression on Lulu's face. "Why? Just because you like your hair long is no reason for everyone to go around with it to the floor."<p>

* * *

><p><em>Flowers<em>

Fandom: FFX

Characters: The Magus Sisters-Cindy, Sandy, and Mindy

Rating: M

Prompt: Flowers

Word Count: 100

Notes: This could be considered incest, you know, since they're sisters, so be warned if that might bother you.

It was all very quiet, though to look on it one might think there would be an unbearable din.

Gold and onyx and the darkest of ruby mirrors shimmered in the late afternoon light. Heavy armor was lifted so that questing tongues might find the delicate flesh beneath. All motion and speed, they moved from flower to flower, hovering over one just to flit to the next, each tasting a nectar more divine than that enjoyed by the gods.

Slender legs quivered.

The grasslands fell silent as every living thing stopped to listen to the strange language of the flowers.

* * *

><p><em>It Didn't Fit Anyway<em>

Fandom: FFX  
>Pairing: LuluRikku  
>Rating: T, PG13, whatever<br>Prompt: Dress-up  
>Word Count: 100<p>

Thunder boomed and an eldritch voice cackled, "Bow to me, mortals! You foul wretches have defiled this sacred soil and I shall purge your essence this very morn! I shall send forth an army of demons to dance upon your..."

Slim arms struggled with heavy sleeves.

"I shall...damn it."

Lulu rolled over and lazily opened one eye. "Rikku, take off my dress."

"Er, I was just..."

"Off."

"But..."

"Argue with me and I won't do that trick with the ice spell and the banana again."

"Eep!" The dress fell to the floor and Rikku hopped back into bed. "Yes ma'am!"

* * *

><p><em>The Speech<em>

Fandom: FFX  
>Pairing: LuluYuna  
>Rating: R<br>Word Count: 200  
>Prompt: Telepathy<p>

"And we know that by banding together, we can fight this menace! Though Sin may be the sea that covers our moorings, we know that we will soon rise above the tides, for I have seen a great vision! I have seen...myself naked with a frozen banana stuck in my Calm Lands."  
>The cheering crowd stumbled into a hushed silence. The speech had been going so well, so why was Yuna up there blushing like she had tried to kiss one of those flying bombs? It was almost like... someone was putting words in her mouth.<br>Someone with really nice boobs.  
>And a twisted sense of humor.<br>Someone that was currently murmuring an incantation into her hand.  
>Rikku turned to her companion and whispered, "Lu? What are you doing to poor Yunie?"<br>"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just a little payback."  
>"Payback?" Hadn't they been bumping uglies for two months now? Trading sex spells? Hadn't Yuna just learned <em>Fingeraga<em>? Even Auron was afraid to go knockin' when their tent walls were a rockin'. "For what?"  
>Lulu's face darkened. Rikku took a panicked step backwards. For one so composed, Lulu sure could be scary.<br>"For telling people that I have a weave. Honestly..."


	5. Chapter 5

_Secrets_

Fandom: FFXII

Pairing: Fran/Penelo

Rating: PG13

Prompt: Silence-Birthday prompt

Word Count: 154 

Had anyone asked her, Fran would have said nothing.

She would never say how shocked she was to see Penelo's small hands make such quick work of her armor that night, how her fingers moved with startling efficiency over the buckles and clasps.

Nor would she mention the warm trembling in her thighs when those same hands proved to be as soft as lilies floating on water.

Penelo's fingers were gentle, though her lips were not. There was a certain wisdom in her touch that Fran simply didn't possess, though she desperately wished to learn. They didn't teach such things in the Wood, after all.

And she certainly would never tell anyone how it thrilled her to hear Penelo whisper those wicked things that were forbidden in her world.

And if Penelo happened to ask why Fran was smiling, she wouldn't say anything at all.

It was far better to be silent and learn.


	6. Chapter 6

_Rain_

Fandom: FFXIII  
>Pairing: LightningFang  
>Rating: T<br>Word Count: 500  
>Prompt: FriendsPartners

Fang wasn't really surprised to see Lightning sitting alone, away from the crowded inn in which Snow insisted they stay the night, but she was a bit dismayed to see that she had walked so far for a little privacy. It wouldn't have been so bad to take a walk, but Lightning had ventured well past the town's borders and the rain had been falling for nearly an hour since she began following her.

Rolling her eyes, she kicked through the mud and dropped onto the mossy trunk next to her companion, cursing silently when she saw the state of her boots. "You're soaked."

Lost in memory and the faint trickle of rain in the trees, Lightning didn't notice Fang's presence until she had squeezed water from her sarong and flicked the droplets at her face. Irritated, she huffed, "What is it?"

"I said that you're soaked."

"Yeah, well, you're wet too."

Cobalt eyes flashed in dark amusement. "So it would seem. It _is_raining, you know."

Lightning turned away when Fang tried to meet her gaze. "What are you doing out here?"

"I came to check on you. When Snow started talking about that girl, you left in such a hurry that..."

"I'm fine."

"Are you? You look so cold."

Lightning chuckled. The tribeswoman had no idea at all, couldn't possibly understand what it meant to be truly cold. "I've told you that I'm fine. "

"Don't lie to me." Fang smiled sadly as her long fingers brushed the shimmering trails on Lightning's cheeks. Had it been anyone else, it would have been easy to ask her what was wrong, but asking the former soldier a question like that seemed like the stupid sort of thing that Vanille might do. "Funny thing. It's pretty cold out here, but the rain on your cheeks is so warm."

Lightning saw the moisture on her fingertips and scoffed at her unspoken question. Only Serah could bring those tears and no other person could ever know it. "Don't be ridiculous. It's just the rain."

"Just the rain, huh?" Suddenly furious that she wasn't trusted enough for a simple confession, Fang cupped Lightning's face in her palms and kissed the high arches of her cheekbones, tasting salt on her skin before seizing her lips with her own. When it seemed that Lightning might pull away, she clutched her hair and forced her head back so her tongue could trail along the length of her throat. She could have stopped at a simple kiss, but something about the broken woman in her arms told her not to.

Warmth and forgiveness and all the things she had denied herself since childhood, Lightning couldn't allow herself to enjoy them now, not even when they were so freely given. "Stop it."

"Why?"

"Because..."

"I don't want to stop..." Fang watched Lightning's beautiful hazel eyes close in an effort to hide the tears once again spilling down her cheeks. "...and I don't think that you want me to either."

* * *

><p><em>Drift<em>

Fandom: FFXIII

Pairing: Nyx/Styria

Rating: M

Prompt: Ice

Word Count: 100

Note: Aside from Jihl getting the shaft, the thing that pissed me off the most about FFXIII was the Shiva Sisters. Sexy women that form a crazy motorcycle in the 69 position? Oh hell yes. Sexy women that form a crazy motorcycle in the 69 position driven by a man that looks like the stoner younger brother of Seifer? Oh hell no. Let those gorgeous women have their fun without a man trying to control them. Screw that jazz. Aeons, Guardian Forces, Eidolons, whatever they are, I've always thought they represent something divine in their respective worlds. They're NOT meant for potheads to ride like Bigwheels, soooo...I kinda like the thought of the Shiva Sisters driving Snow crazy while he sleeps.

_He likes us, you know.  
>Yes, he does like us.<em>

_He likes us like 'this', doesn't he?  
>He likes 'this', not us.<em>

_Do we like him like this?  
>No, we do not.<em>

_He rides us, doesn't he?  
>Rides us he does.<em>

_We are not a carriage, are we sister?  
>No, we are ice.<em>

_We were once more, were we not?  
>Yes, we were more.<em>

_Do we do something about it?  
>Yes sister, we do something about it.<em>

_Do we ride him instead?  
>We do not.<em>

_No?  
>No.<em>

_Let him dream of...riding ice?_  
><em>Yes sister, like the others before him.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Disgust<em>

Fandom: FFXIII  
>Pairing: JihlVanille  
>Rating: R<br>Prompt: Love  
>Word Count: 200<br>Note: After reading **girlinstilettos** ' drabbles here (which I adore, by the way), I wanted to play with a Jihl drabble myself. I still don't think she's quite as cruel as everyone else thinks. She's cruel, of course, but not in a _cruel _cruel way, which I can never seem to explain to anyone the way I see it in my mind. This is just one of a few different ways I see her character. I feel kind of bad for her because she seems to know that she's nothing more than one of the tools she hates so much, but doesn't want to admit it, thus her hatred for anything that smacks of love. Love's just a way to control people, so for someone as twisted as she is, it ain't a good thing. And Jihl's fangirls? Dude. If serial killers in prison get their love letters from crazies, then can't Jihl have an army of stalkerellas too?

It wasn't that Jihl liked to hurt those girls.  
>Not really.<br>They asked for it, but she never really wanted to do it. She had better things to do with her time, no matter what people assumed about her and her appetites.  
>They wanted her to hurt them, often begging her until she obliged. Some wanted to fuck the famous lieutenant colonel, but when she became what they saw on television, they fled. They ran and they screamed because what Jihl could do was far worse than what they thought they wanted. She gave them what they wanted and became what she was.<br>They disgusted her when she shoved the sticky, weeping bitches from her bed. They were pathetic, all nothing more than beasts. They were pathetic and they were animals and they were still better than her because they could be disgusted with her in return.  
>They were all the same, except for this last one.<br>The ginger bitch was an odd one, the hateful little cunt.  
>She never ran, though she wept more than any of them when curling Jihl's hair around her bruised fingers.<br>Jihl hated her for crying because she knew those tears weren't for herself.

* * *

><p><em>Getcha Hair Did, Getcha Nails Done<em>

Fandom: FFXIII  
>Pairing: JihlFang  
>Rating: R to be safe<br>Prompt: Unexpected  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: Yes, this is based on the hairstyles in Final Fantasy XIII, which encompasses at least four decades of glorious hair. Beatrix already claimed the 1990's with her Jennifer Aniston 'do, so it's time for Jihl and Fang to rep their decades. If you can't guess what they're talking about, then you need to stop shaving.

"Dear sweet mother of all things holy..."  
>Jihl's grip tightened. "You are not going to insult me after what I just saw, are you?"<br>Fang chewed her lower lip in deep thought. "I just didn't think that..."  
>"At least mine has body and shine, which is more than I can say for that hideous creature skulking between your hips."<br>"That's called style, you egotistical bitch!"  
>Jihl lifted Fang's sarong with her baton. "That looks like a wig from a bad Motley Crue tribute band."<br>"Better that than hippy hair. The sixties are over, you know."  
>"But you have a <em>mullet!<em>"


	7. Chapter 7

_Hurry Up_

Fandom: FFVIII (mostly)  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: R<br>Word Count: 500  
>Prompt: Slow<p>

"Was that her nipple?"

Quistis marked the paper on her clipboard with a bit more force than was really necessary. Xu was supposed to help her observe the post-graduation training of the SeeDs, not drool over them. "Perhaps, though I doubt it."

Xu watched the sweating combatants roll on the floor of the training center. From the way they were grappling for purchase in the inky muck and grime, it was obvious that neither had spent much time training in hand-to-hand combat.

It was pretty damned hot though.

For two months she had tried to get Quistis to hit a bar and watch some mud wrestling with her, but workaholic Trepe would have none of it. Oh well. She'd settle for a dirty training session, provided Quistis would just cooperate. "Hard to see, isn't it? She's a quick little fucker."

"She's still not as fast as her partner."

Xu grinned when she saw the name on the list. "Muffie?"

"No, it's Yuffie something or other. Foreign name. Forget where she said she lives."

Xu grinned again and looked at the angry checkmarks on Quistis' paper. "You sure it wasn't Muffie?"

"Positive. It's pronounced with a slight accent, so it doesn't sound anything like..."

"Yes? Like what, exactly?"

Quistis narrowed her eyes and watched the fighters again." I don't appreciate you thinking of 'muff' while you're watching other women fight."

"Mmm...Jealous?"

"Never." Quistis rolled her eyes and refused to look at Xu. She had too much work to do and it was difficult to grade their moves when both fighters were so tremendously fast.

Xu moved closer and whispered, "They're quick, aren't they?"

"Show some class, Xu."

"Class? You're the teacher. I'm a bit of a brute and you're the only one who can possibly teach me any manners..."

"Charming sentiment, Xu. Now, are you going to help me grade them or not?"

"Grade them? Are you kidding? They're moving so fast that I can't even tell which one is which!"

"Well, maybe you'd have better luck if you'd concentrate on their attacks instead of their tits."

"Oh, don't be like that. I was just joking because you've been so stressed out since..." Selphie squealed and began pelting Yuffie with handfuls of mud. Yuffie snorted and tackled her tormentor, though Selphie easily squirmed from her arms and was sliding back and forth over the assigned arena.

Xu tried to keep up with them, but it was impossible. "God, it's like they've snorted Diamond Dust and they can't come off the high..."

Quistis groaned. "Well, until I finish my work, we can't leave. Looks like we're stuck here until I can figure out how to grade her."

Xu stuck her tongue in her cheek and thought for a second. It was technically against the rules, but getting laid by a hot blonde superseded any rules that Cid might have concocted.

She glanced at Quistis, then made a quick gesture and whispered, "Slow."

"Xu? What are you doing?"

"Just grade her quick, okay?"

* * *

><p><em>Bad Ideas<em>

Fandom: Crossover  
>Pairing:<br>Threesome:  
>Foursome: JihlTifa/Lulu/?  
>Prompt: Mystery<br>Word Count: 400

Note: Jihl, Tifa, and Lulu all have glorious hair and enormous knockers. I drool everytime I see them. They'd make a great shampoo commercial together.

Jihl woke up, couldn't breathe, and just _knew_ that last night had been a bad idea. She had been drinking, after all, and her bad ideas often seemed like good ideas, and the better the idea sounded when intoxicated, the worse it turned out to be when sober. That was alcoholic logic.

Still...

There was just _something_ about Tifa and tequila, Lulu and luau-lube that didn't sound bad no matter how many times she tried to make herself believe it, even when stone-sober.

She blinked twice, stretched once, and tried to ignore the fact that somebody's thighs were on her cheeks and another somebody's arm was around her waist. It would have been very confusing indeed, except she _distinctly _recalled slathering that delicious pineapple-and-coconut oil on the older girl's hips before she took a fun ride on the Spira Sin Wagon.

So...the hot thighs on her face belonged to the hot gal from the tropics. That was one mysterious set of legs (and one luscious set of knockers) sorted out from the tangle of limbs and thongs.

That meant that the arm on her waist belonged to the fist that had such delicate fingertips.

Hoo boy. Jihl winced when she recalled those hands on her upper arms, how they gripped and flexed and pinched and..._I'll be damned! She left marks on me! I'll kill the bitch! I've not been bruised since I was a private and...Good God, she's moving south and...oh my! She is DEFINITELY not leaving a bruise down there!_

So the Amazon boxer bitch was the one holding her waist so tenderly to her warm, soft body. Another mystery solved.

It had been fun, but Jihl had countries to conquer. She pushed Coconuts off of her face and removed Boxing Betty's arm from her waist, but found that she was still trapped in the comfortable bed by her own blonde hair.

_Who the bloody hell braided us together?_

What was so damned confusing was how they had managed to get all three of their long manes into a single braid. She had been tipsy, true, but not nearly hammered enough to forget that one of them was braiding the other two to her long hair. Chestnut, ebony, and gold made for one hell of an impressive ribbon, but none of them were flexible enough to move quite that...

_FLUSH..._

Jihl jumped.

Who the hell was in the bathroom?

* * *

><p><em>Black and Blue<em>

Fandom: FFVIII and X Crossover  
>Pairing: QuistisLulu  
>Rating: M<br>Word Count: 400  
>Prompt: Transformation<p>

"Oh! I think I have it this..."  
>"Damn."<br>It wasn't often that Lulu lost her poise, but this wasn't her element and she was flustered.  
>She tried once more to summon the ore from the earth, combine it with the flames always within her, but all she could manage was a faint plop.<br>She again mimicked the gesture she had been taught, stretching her arms forward, then bending back so that her chest...  
>...plopped.<br>Again.  
>Ugh.<br>She could spin serpents from the skies and yet she couldn't make a simple metal cylinder? Sun-burned and irritated, totally unaware that she was dangerously close to flouncing, she stepped into the shade provided by a nearby palm and crossed her arms.  
>"Having trouble?"<br>Lulu's sneer was exceptionally venomous when she saw the neat row of ammunition carefully positioned in the sand. "These toys of yours are something that the Al-Bhed would create. Nothing this vile should come from the earth."  
>Quistis smiled. It wasn't an ability that just anyone could learn. Spouting bullets from one's chest left dreadful scars if potions weren't promptly applied. There were quite a few that she didn't want anyone to see.<br>Of course Xu had seen them, but Xu was Xu and Xu didn't count. Besides, she was off trying to unscrew the bolts on a mouthy red-head's toolbox with a few margaritas.  
>Not that Quistis was complaining. It had given her a chance to speak with this strange, lovely woman and, well, geek out over magic. The afternoon had been very pleasant. There had been nothing but engaging philosophical discussions about the nature of magic, followed by sweet coconut cocktails, sunlight, white sands and white breasts.<br>Er, lessons in blue magic.  
>Yes.<br>Quistis hurriedly chugged the last half of her Blitzball Slammer and offered some advice to her petulant student. She didn't know if she'd be able to maintain her composure if that woman pouted her lips anymore. They were just too delicious. Ripe and heavy and delectable. Everything about this sorceress named Lulu seemed ready to fu...pluck!  
>Yes.<br>Pluck.  
>"You should have arched your back more."<br>"I did."  
>"No, you should lean back like you would if a beautiful woman had her tongue between your..."<br>Lulu's frown disappeared. "Would I be able to produce these...bullets if I think that way?"  
>"Might get more explosions that way..."<br>Lulu silently reminded herself to keep Rikku away from this tourist.

* * *

><p><em>Frog<em>

Fandom: FFVIII/FFIX Crossover

Pairing: Quina/Fujin  
>Prompt: Voice<br>Rating: Er...I never know with Quina. I'll go with M.  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: Quina was an odd girl(?), always chasing after frogs in FFIX. I've had frog legs. They taste like chicken, however they DO NOT taste like a certain something else. Of course, to Quina everything always comes back to food...

She say NO.

She yell at me.

She call me WEIRDO.

She say it funny.

Her voice no voice at all.

She crude and loud.

She bark like dog.

Dog...

Dog sound like frog.

Hmm...

Like tasty frog.

Mmm...

I tell her she sound like frog.

She get mad.

She say I am the FROG.

I say if I frog, then she fly and I eat her anyway.

She say NO.

I say yes.

She say REALLY?

I say yes.

She sound like frog, must taste like frog.

I tell her she tastes like frog.

She kick me in shin.

* * *

><p><em>And Then!<em>

Fandom: FFVIII/FFX Crossover  
>Pairing: SelphieRikku  
>Rating: M<br>Prompt: Chaos  
>Word Count: 100...and 2! Mwahahaha! The prompt is CHAOS! Word counts can eat me this time. (and dashes or hyphens or whatever the hell those things are make everything into one word. How NEAT!)<br>Note: Forgive me if my translation is a bit rusty. I slept through two years of college Al-Bhed because I was busy staring at Lulu's tits.

So-first-you-lick-it-then-you-bite-it-a-little-bit-but-not-toooooo-hard-because -then-she-might-yelp-and-then-you-might-have-mean-old-Lulu-staring-at-ya-like-she-does-when-she's-in-a-BAD-MOOD!

But-it-will-be-okey-dokey-because-by-that-point-surely-you-will-have-her-all - shiny-and-waxed-with-that-spiffy-wet-look-and-maybe-have-blown-on-her-a-bit-and-stuck-your-key-in-her-ignition-and-turned-the...ooooooh-my-GOD-you-are-SOOOO-right-'cause-it-can-TOTALLY-be-one-of-those-double-entendre-thingamabobs-that-sound-like-something-you-eat-off-a-toothpick-at-a-fancy-dinner-and-anyway-so-ya-start-to-crank-her-motor-and-listen-to-her-purr-and I-mean-what-if-she-DOES-spring-a-leak-'cause-then-you'll-have-to-lick-it-up-and...

Wait. Lick it up then lick it down? I don't get...

So you're gonna show me what you-mean-by-lick-it-before-you-stick-it-and-OH-HOLY-MOTHER-OF-ALL-GLITTERING-LUGNUTS!

WHAT-THE-HELL-ARE-YOU-DOING?

ARE-YOU-REALLY-LICKING-THOSE-POP-ROCKS-OFF-MY-CHASSIS-'CAUSE-THAT-IS-THE-COOLEST-THING-EVER-NEXT-TO-THAT-REALLY-NEAT-SET-OF-BALLISTIC-SOCKET-WRENCHES-I-SAW-AT-THAT-AL-BHED-FAIR...AND...and...and...

_Tayn cfaad munt uv ymm drehkc rumo yht tejeha! Tuh'd cdub melgehk huf! Nekrd drana! Dryd'c nekrd, Demsedd. Syga sa fecr E fyc faynehk dryd uidved oui mega ehcdayt uv drec cmiddo pegehe. Vycdan, vycdan, tuh'd cdub, vycdan! Oac, oac, suja ouin duhkia, oui roban meddma aqbmuceja rybbo pedlr!_

Hoo boy. Whew!

Wait a second, Wiggles. Stop giggling! I do not taste like motor oil!

Oh. Heh. Whaddya know?

Okay. My turn. Scoot over and give me the keys.

* * *

><p><em>Persuasion<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: EdeaUltimecia  
>Rating: Eh, call it M to be safe.<br>Prompt: Blind  
>Word Count: 200<br>Note: Damn it, can't Ulti and Edea have some fun too?

"I'm not wearing it."

"Ah, but you are." The voice was seductive, alluring. Men had massacred thousands to hear that voice in their sleep. "Yes, you look stunning."

Edea, however, was not a man and she wasn't impressed with ancient women whispering in her ears when she was trying to get dressed. She had shit to do and little time to do it.

For one thing, there was a president to overthrow.

For another, that sort of operation required camouflage and waterproof boots, not a breast-exposing affair with a sequined thong.

And a... bird mask? Honestly. What were they going to do? Peck out the eyes of the commoners?

"I am not."

The voice pressed harder. "You are. I command time, thus I command..."

"Nobody has worn _this _sort of cut in years!"

The voice was confused. She looked down at herself, er...at her host, er...

_Damn it._

She looked down at herself residing in her voluptuous hostess...

_There!  
><em>  
>...and thought their dress very sophisticated. "B-but..."<p>

"No."

"It's timeless!"

Edea tugged on the two-sided tape and felt her dress shift somewhere dangerously left of pink center. "It's horrid."

"It's the height of fashion!"

"...three hundred years ago, maybe."

Ultimecia sighed.


	8. Chapter 8

_Vow_

Fandom: FFVIII/FFXIII Crossover  
>Pairing: JihlUltimecia  
>Rating: PG13<br>Prompt: Red  
>Word Count: 200<br>Note: Based on a conversation between **vpf** and myself a while back. This was originally a _much _nicer story. Yes, Jihl is a bitch but I still feel bad for her. I feel bad for Ultimecia too. That may be why I like them together so much. I kind of thought about using Siren for this, but Siren doesn't seem like she would want the seas to run red with blood the way Ulti would. And it's obvious from the opening of FFVIII that Ulti has a thing for the ocean.

__Flash__  
>Jihl kicks again because she enjoys the flashes in the pink sea, like ripping a flower petal and seeing white fire. She has to lift her skirt to keep it dry, but the moisture on her legs shines with the same evening colors that have charmed her, so she doesn't mind.<br>__Flash__  
>A shell washes onto the shore, one of the rare unicorn spirals that hasn't been broken on the rocks. She gasps, though she would never admit to doing so. It must be a gift to be so perfect, a gift from one that loves her. The pearly surface glints against the sand, brighter than any diamond, then it's gone.<br>__Flash__  
>No. There. Her shell is red as the sky now, a smaller sun to mirror the one hanging in the heavens.<br>__Flash__  
>She hurries to it, but the sea closes over her shell before she can reach it.<br>__Flash__  
>She plunges into the water, searching, pleading with the enchantress that torments her with jewels, but her sun is gone.<br>__Flash__  
>Jihl hears the song and knows that the old tales are true, so she vows to make the seas red forever for her lover beneath the waves.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Possession<em>

Fandom: FFVIII and FFXIII Crossover  
>Pairing: JihlUltimecia  
>Rating: R<br>Prompt: Toxic  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: I really like Jihl and Ultimecia together. There's something sad and lonely about Ulti that is wholly lacking in Jihl. I pity Ulti when Jihl realizes a few things about herself.

_On your knees, bitch._

_You're in my world now and I am your god._

_Bow to me._

_Worship me._

_Love me._

_I am your everything. I am your world._

_You exist to serve me._

_Open your mouth, wretch._

_Show me your love._

Jihl clawed at her sheets, her face, her thighs when the dream became too real. She tore her hair and screamed the witch's name, begging her for mercy as the strands stuck to her bloodied palms.

When she was given nothing but agony, she smiled in her sleep.

She didn't want to worship a weak goddess, after all.

* * *

><p><em>Cast<em>

Fandom: FFVIII and XIII crossover

Pairing: Ultimecia/Jihl

Rating: T

Prompt: Direction

Word Count: 500

Author's Notes: Okay, so this doesn't really make any sense, but I just thought it would be fun to play with Ultimecia as a witch and Jihl as a witch hunter of sorts, since that's basically what they are, only in different worlds. Ulti is the magic and Jihl seeks to eliminate anything that isn't metal and glass. Plus, Ulti is made of hate and love and anger, while Jihl feels nothing at all. Pulled in different directions and both seeking the same thing.

The inn was crowded, filled with farmhands enjoying a few beers and loud, crude jokes. Jihl would have passed it by, but the roads were icy and she had no desire to spend another night in her damp bedroll. She hesitated at the entrance, though not because of the raucous calls greeting her or the eager glances in her direction. She was accustomed to that, after all. Men liked to look at her and she encouraged their admiration. She hesitated simply because she was afraid that the scent of sweat and ale would cling to her hair and she would smell like some farmer's cross-eyed mule.

One final breath and she ducked into the inn, shaking ice from her coat as she acclimatized herself to the heavy odor of men and horses.

"Good evening." A harsh, though decidedly feminine voice sounded from a table to her right, the words clearly hurting the woman who uttered them. "You seem weary. Would you like a seat here by the fire?"

Jihl tried to see the woman's features, but they were shrouded in shifting shadows. The firelight touched her face long enough for Jihl to see that she was being addressed by an uncommonly lovely woman, but it flickered away as if brushing her skin burned even its warm embrace. She thanked her hostess with a short nod, then sank into the chair across from her.

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you."

Jihl wondered at the elegant curve in the woman's wrist as she held the steaming tea to her lips. Her hands seemed far too graceful to belong a woman that spoke such strangely accented Common. Then again, she wondered why such a stunning woman was in such a squalid dive.

She hadn't realized she was staring until the woman smiled. It was almost enough to make her feel drunk. The room seemed to sway and the heat from the fire evaporated.

"Tell me something."

The accent grew more pronounced as her voice filled existence.

"For those you seek, those...heh. Those 'undesirables' that you so want to find..." Golden eyes glittered above a cup of red tea. "What will you feel when you break them?"

Jihl felt the pull of something beyond her understanding. She felt nothing. She had long ago forgotten what it was to know such endless sorrow that it would seek to end time itself.

"Tell me."

Jihl's mouth opened but no sound came. _Witch!, _she wanted to scream. _I've searched for you for so long..._

"My children will come to kill me one day. My children love me."

Long fingers caressed her chin as the witch leaned closer and kissed Jihl's silent, trembling lips.

"I want you to love me as they do. " She chuckled, amused by some sad joke. "As they will, rather."

Jihl felt those warm lips on hers again and returned the kiss with tears falling from her eyes.

Choking, her words now as clipped as those of her beautiful captor, she sadly muttered, "I can't."

* * *

><p><em>Lessons<em>

Fandom: FFVIII and FFXIII crossover  
>Pairing: JihlQuistis  
>Rating: R<br>Word Count: 500  
>Prompt: Attention<p>

"Pay close attention to what I'm about to teach you."

The blindfold prevented Quistis from seeing her captor, but with that sudden warm breath in her ear she was able to make a very accurate approximation of her position. A rough shove and she fell onto what she assumed was a hastily assembled camp bed, all coarse canvas that smelled of dust and sweat.

She wondered what new crime she had committed to make that cold woman so upset with her. The last time she displeased her new mistress, Quistis had spent three nights sleeping on the floor of the tent while her Jihl toyed with the faceless troop that always dogged her steps. Licking her lips, Quistis turned to that impatient voice and murmured, "Yes, of course..."

The sharp sting of leather against her bare thighs was no surprise, not after all this time, but the gentle fingers that grazed her skin still managed to make her shiver. She had witnessed what the lieutenant's hands could do and the memories thrilled her into remaining motionless, hoping to learn another maneuver from the brilliant tactician.

Jihl noted with some satisfaction that her prize was an intelligent girl, quickly learning that crying out when the lash fell meant another blow would soon follow. She learned from pain easily enough, but she was still having trouble with her other lessons. Those moans of hers simply wouldn't do, not with a camp full of lusty soldiers within earshot. Tracing the new welts with a lazy fingertip, she let her hand hover just between Quistis' thighs, close enough to her flesh to make her squirm and whimper. Jihl was determined that she learn patience that night, even if she had to beat her until she bled. "I thought I told you to pay attention..."

"I'm trying..." She was certainly trying, but it was difficult to pay attention to anything when she was thinking of how her hands might look entwined in fistfuls of Jihl's long hair.

Jihl sighed and removed her hand, adjusting her glasses on her nose. "Oh, my pretty little pet, do you enjoy disappointing me?"  
>Quistis thought she might weep when she felt that hand disappear and heard the rustle of fabric. "No!"<p>

Soft lips caressed the deep imprint of Jihl's teeth when she finished biting Quistis' shoulder. "Shall I show you again what happens when I'm disappointed?"

"Please..."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Please..."

"Then be quiet and learn your manners, girl."

...

"Q? Why do you wear those glasses? Your vision is fine."

"It's a long story." Quistis smiled and gave her beloved Xu a long kiss. "I'll tell you about it, but not tonight. Now, do it."

"But..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, but I don't understand..."

"Yes?"

Xu thoughtfully bit her lip and raised her arm for another blow. There were times that she just didn't understand her beautiful king. "But, why your whip?"

"Oh, my pretty Xu, weren't you paying attention to my instructions?"

* * *

><p><em>Hunger<em>

Fandom: FFVIII and FFX Crossover  
>Pairing: QuistisLulu  
>Rating: PG13<br>Prompt: Quistis Trepe  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: There will always be part of me that hates Square for never developing Quistis beyond jilted crush and fired instructor. Then again, there is another part of me that hopes and believes a writer on that staff loved her enough to give her something beyond a silly denied romance. I choose to believe that Quistis is the lonely one, the vessel, the starving one that is never meant to be filled because she is the one _meant to fill_. She is the teacher and the blue mage, after all. She is meant to be the eternal student so that she can become an even more powerful teacher and mage. And what better person to show her how to be truly magical than Lulu, eh? She is...well, kind of what I imagine Quistis could be, if only Quistis had the wherewithal to realize her potential and possess the magic flowing within her.  
>And now that my notes are longer than my drabble, here ya go.<p>

"First you inhale..."

Glass ravished the blushing shadows, carving slivers of nothing into what never was.

"Breathe..."

Precision. Such horrifying precision.

"Now taste..."

Witch or bard? Her lessons would be crooned in river water and silt, but sharp as the grass floating between both.

"Slowly. Oh, so slowly, my love. The earth will not abandon you."

The blade sank deeper and the clay shuddered in response.

"Slowly, I said! No more!"

This. This was one that could stitch the sky to the sea, if she didn't rend the fabric of each before midnight bled blue.

"Let her fill you before..."


	9. Chapter 9

_First!_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: R<br>Prompt: First  
>Word Count: 200<br>Note: Yeah. You're thinking right. They're racing.

"You...skinny...four-eyed...bitch..." Xu rarely insulted Quistis, but there were times that adoring her simply wouldn't be appropriate. "I won't let you win this time."  
>Quistis took a deep breath and peeked at Xu through the strands of hair sticking to her sweating face. She loved her, but sometimes the competition mattered more than even the deepest friendship. "Better move a little faster. You know what happened last time."<br>Xu felt a cramp seize her left thigh. She grimaced, then ground her teeth together and growled, "You cheated. We weren't supposed to use...oil!"  
>At Xu's shriek, Quistis thought that the neighbors would definitely call the cops this time. "No, we weren't supposed to use <em>tools<em>. We never said a word about oil."  
>"Still...it wasn't..." Quistis stretched, bent at her waist, then moved faster than Xu had ever seen her move before. Holy hell, how did she even do that? "Did you cast haste on yourself?"<br>Quistis gave Xu her smuggest grin, then wiggled her fingers. "You never said we couldn't use magic..."  
>"What?" Not one to lose again, Xu cast her own haste spell, but slightly lower. "F-fir..."<br>"Xu, what did you...? Hey!"  
>"Fir..." Xu fell back in a breathless heap. "First!"<p>

* * *

><p><em>Sex<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: R<br>Prompt: Sex  
>Word Count: 500<br>Note: Check at the end of the drabble

Quistis was certain that she had the most limber ocular muscles in existence. With Xu around, they had to be.

The first time she rolled her eyes that day was at breakfast, when Xu said that she was going to help with an important class project. Xu never participated in classroom activities unless bribed or threatened .

"You want to do what now?"

"I'm gonna help you out today!"

The second time was when Quistis mentioned this fact and Xu denied it.

"What's the catch?"

"What catch?"

"Exactly."

"I don't follow."

"Why do you suddenly want to help?"

"I've read your notes. You're gonna have trouble explaining that topic to them."

"You never bother to help unless I pay you."

"Trust me. I don't need money for _this_, Q."

The third time was when Quistis was setting up for her presentation and there was still no sign of Xu.

The fourth time was at lunch, when Xu choked on her sandwich in the midst of her spirited defense.

"I was busy!"

"Right. And you'll be busy later when I'm trying to explain this concept to my students, the concept that just this morning seemed so _utterly incomprehensible _that you couldn't bear the thought of me teaching it alone."

"I will not! And I didn't say _that!_I said that you'll need me!"

The fifth time was when she was in the middle of her lecture and she heard Xu muttering to herself in the supply closet. Her left hand performed a complex series of movements, weaving the deadliest of magical glyphs in the air, so she couldn't be bothered by Xu's silly interruptions. The slightest mistake could bring death to her entire classroom.

_Boing-g-g-g-g-g..._

Quistis focused harder, clutching the air between her fingers, whispering the incantation in an ancient, almost forgotten language. _  
><em>  
>"Bwahahaha! It has a spring!"<p>

The class applauded when Quistis finished the words to the spell and the sigil vanished with a silken hiss. They felt it was only fitting, as anything else might make that vein in their instructor's temple explode.

"And one more...there! Ready!"

Quistis ended class and ushered her students out the door while Xu fumbled with the knob.

The sixth and final time Quistis rolled her eyes was when Xu tumbled out of the closet completely naked, save for a series of strategically placed arrows sketched onto her skin.

"Okay kids! Let's talk about sex! Then we...Hey! Where is everyone?"

"Class is over."

"But I thought we were teaching them about sex!"

Quistis squinted. "Sex? What are you talking about?"

"In your notes! It said sex, then septem, so I figured we were gonna tackle drug abuse too. I even practiced my deviated septum voice to teach kids to stay away from Diamond Dust!"

Quistis slapped her forehead. "You idiot, that was an old form of Centran... "

"So I got ready for nothing?"

Quistis thought for a second.

"Well, I could teach you the Centran names for all those parts you have labeled..."

...

Note: So yeah, I slept through two years of Latin in high school. Latin is now Centran in my head canon, just because it fits the little joke here. Also, I had this image of Xu trying to sound like Stevie Nicks when she did her deviated seven, er, septem, er, septum voice. Tee hee!

* * *

><p><em>Take A Guess<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: R, of course!<br>Prompt: Food  
>Word Count: 300<br>Note: So it's **girlinstilettos**' birthday, but I can't buy her a birthday shot 'cause she lives way over on the other side of the flippin' country, so I did a drabble instead. I saw the prompt and it instantly reminded me of this little guessing game. So happy birthday, chick!

"Grapes?"

Xu was working some sort of sinfully delicious black magic with her tongue, so all Quistis could manage was a breathless "Nrrgh."

"No?" Xu dove back between her thighs. There was definitely something there, yet she couldn't place it. "Apples?"

Another moan in the negative.

"Hm..."

Quistis wondered if she might have scars from the explosions. She had never tried_that_ before! "Dear sweet _Hyne!_Don't hum like that! I'm already going to..."

Xu began purring the Galbadian national anthem in a throaty vibrato.

Quistis wanted to purr too, but she found that her vocal cords were being controlled by the sensitive bits of her lower anatomy. Had Xu's tongue not been twisting inside her just then, she might have started research on the effects of sexual gratification on the larynx during...

What was she doing with her teeth?

Purrs turned to growls, at which point Quistis began to feel like an antelope being devoured by a very sexy lioness. One that happened to stroke and nibble and...

"Why the _hell_have you stopped?"

Xu licked her chops. "Gonna give me a hint?"

Somewhere between the last groan, a pillow being tossed across the room, and Quistis locking her thighs around her ears, Xu thought she heard, "It's a fruit, but I'm not telling you if you..."

Damn the woman, Xu was using her fingers again.

"... if you cheat like this..."

Xu felt the shudder begin somewhere around Quistis' toes. "A fruit, eh? Was it a peach?"

"You're so close..."

"Apricot?"

"I'm not talking about the fucking _fruuuuuuuit...!_"

Xu held tight when it seemed that Quistis might float off the bed.

"So did I guess it?"

"Nope." Quistis pulled her up for a quick kiss. "Though I may try to guess at what you had for dessert now..."

* * *

><p><em>Pink<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Title: Pink<br>Prompt: Clothing  
>Word Count: 200 (I think!)<br>Rating: T  
>Note: Hope this is the proper way to post things here. If not, please let me know!<p>

"I will never..." Xu tugged on the zipper and slid her finger underneath the leather armguard to test the fit. "...understand why the hell you wear pink."

Quistis shrugged. "I just do. Red makes me look like a whore and green makes me look sickly."

Xu watched her adjust her skirt and wondered if those boots extended as far as she imagined. Mid-thigh or to the hilt? "Still, I think you'd look good in..."

Quistis raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "I'd look good in what, exactly, Madame Trepie Queen?"

Xu smiled. "Blue would work, though it would have to be very light..."

"No. It's a heavenly color and we both know that I'm very, very earthy..."

"And yet you're a blue mage..."

"That's true."

"So why the pink? It's such a weak color. It doesn't suit my King at all."

Quistis resumed her place next to Xu and tugged at her starched hems. No soldier in Garden's history had such an immaculate uniform. "I didn't hear you complaining when I turned so pink last night."

Xu tried to ignore the fingers crumpling her carefully pressed seams. "That was different. That was you, not your..."

"Not my what, Xu?"

"Not your..."

* * *

><p><em>Holy<em>

Fandom: FFVIII

Pairing: Quistis/Xu  
>Rating: R<br>Prompt: Taboo  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: Blame this one on the theft of the Scone of Stone in Pratchett's _The Fifth Elephant_. Quistis and Xu breaking into a museum for a holy relic just seems fun to me. Plus, Xu in a wig? Oh hell yes.

"Oh ...fuuuuuck."

"You broke it!"

"It wasn't me! It was you!"

"It was not!"

"You told me to move faster!"

"You're the one that didn't use lube!"

"I did too!"

"Chocolate syrup doesn't count!"

"What the hell are we going to do now?"

"Uh...return it?"

"We can't!"

"Sure we can!"

"They have you on camera!"

"No, they have _Rinoa_ on camera. I wore that wig, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

"Um..."

"We can't keep it here."

"I'm not going to just throw it away! It's a holy relic!"

"Just because you scream 'Oh God, harder, faster, more!' doesn't make it holy, Xu."

* * *

><p><em>Speechless<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu, though Rinoa and Selphie are the stars in this one  
>Rating: M<br>Prompt: Ice  
>Word Count: 500<p>

Rinoa's screech could be heard for miles.

Or at least up the hall.

"Selphieeeeeeeeeeee!"

Flail locked and loaded, (even though it technically didn't use ammo, you couldn't just say ready to start swingin' a chained stick. That didn't have the same action hero ring. ) Selphie pounded up the hall to the dormitory wing to save her friend. She was glad she had on her lucky bunny slippers. She could really kick ass with Fluffy and Killer attached to her feet. Finally reaching her panicked buddy, she slid to a stop and assumed a patented ninja-pose-of-death.

"What's wrong? Where's the villain?"

Calmer now that she had someone with her, Rinoa tried to explain the situation. "It's just...Ow!"

Hand stinging from the slap to Rinoa's cheek, Selphie barked, "Rinoa! Calm down, woman! Tell me what's going on!"

"You hit me!"

"Shh! You're hysterical!"

"I am not! I was actually better since..."

"Shh! That doesn't matter right now! There's an evil villain wreaking havoc and I..."

Exasperated, Rinoa covered her eyes and once again tried to tell Selphie what Xu told her about Quistis over the phone. "There's no villain. It's her tongue..."

Selphie's eyes widened in excitement. "Ooooh! It's been torn out by a ghoul from beyond the graaaaave and now it's lying on the carpet in a ghastly puddle of bloooood! Neat!"

Rinoa peeked at Selphie through the gaps in her fingers. "What?"

"Er, I meant...tragic."

"It's not been torn out by a ghoul, Selphie."

Selphie opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a loud string of creative curse words from behind the door.

"Eeep! The villainous ghoul strikes! Avast me hearties! We've got some names to take and some ass to kick! Let's burn rubber! Come on Rin! We've got to avenge!"

Rinoa watched Selphie kick the door for a long, bewildered moment. She wasn't sure if she had ever heard so many action movie clichés used in a single rallying cry before. "What? Avenge who?"

"That doesn't matter now! Help me break down the drawbridge so we can traverse the moat and..."

"It's automatic, Selphie. We just have to hit the button."

Selphie stopped kicking with one be-bunnied foot in the air. "Oh yeah. Well, uh...hit that button, Sister Mary!"

Rinoa pressed the button and waited outside while Selphie ran in to save Quistis and Xu from...

"EEEEEEEP! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?"

Rinoa thought she heard something about an ice spell and cherry lip gloss, but she wasn't sure.

"HOW DID YOU GET YOUR FACE STUCK THERE, QUISTY?"

There was another mumbled response, but it was Quistis that tried to answer this time and Rinoa knew for a fact that she wasn't in the best position to give one of her lengthy answers.

"NO! DON'T PULL! XU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO WALK AGAIN! HOLD ON! I'LL GET SOME WARM WATER!"

Rinoa heard a splash.

"WELL, IT ISN'T MY FAULT THAT YOU DIDN'T SHAVE, XU!"

Rinoa shook her head and closed the door.

* * *

><p><em>Dicks and Dames<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: M<br>Prompt: Dress-up  
>Word Count: 400<br>Note: Yeah, yeah, I know. It was fun though. Blame the mod and her sexy red fedora. Also, I was thinking of Quistis adopting a Harley Quinn accent in this one.

Quistis inhaled deeply when she saw the shifty-looking suit sit at her table. Dark hair. Red tie. Pinstripes and a fedora. It just had to be pinstripes and a fedora. Any minute now and he'd...  
>Yep. Light a cigar.<br>Perfect.  
>Grabbing a tray full of empty glasses and a bottle of bourbon (because he'd want it on the rocks, no doubt), Quistis blew a strand of hair from her face and sashayed to his table.<br>"Evenin' sir" she said with more force than necessary. "What can I getcha?"  
>A shrug.<br>"Whatcha got?"  
>"We got whateva ya want, sir. Stiff or sweet."<br>Thick smoke curled around a thin black moustache before drifting overhead and lingering unseen above their heads. Even in the dim light, Quistis noticed that the teeth clamped on that cigar were far too white to belong to a smoker. Suspicious, she poured two drinks and took the seat immediately next to her customer. Lowering her voice, she added, "If yer here to drink, that is."  
>They raised their glasses simultaneously, each offering a silent toast to the other.<br>"Look, sister. I might be here to drink, but then again..." A rogue hand disappeared beneath the tablecloth and began stroking her thigh. "...I might be here for information."  
>"Information?" The hand moved higher, pinching slightly when it seemed that Quistis might clench her knees together. Stealing a glance at the other tables, Quistis shifted so that her skirt could be pushed up to her hips. Nobody bought drinks from a common whore, even when they did. It was an unspoken understanding between Ms. Trepe and her customers. Things that transpired in her bar didn't transpire in her bar. Don't ask, don't tell, just take it to a motel. That's how she liked to run things.<br>"You came here for...?"  
>"Yeah." The hand moved higher, stopping just before it reached a blazing warmth that had nothing to do with the bourbon. "I'm lookin' for somethin'."<br>Breathless, Quistis stammered "W-what are ya lookin' for?"  
>Surprisingly soft lips brushed the curve of her ear. "I'm lookin' for a dame to polish my tommygun."<br>Rolling her eyes, Quistis shoved her suitor away and spat, "Damn it, Xu! Remember your lines!"  
>"It wasn't me! It was the moustache talking!"<br>"Oh for the love of...give me that hat. I'll show you how a man should act."  
>Xu grinned and removed the fedora. "Heh. Yes sir."<p>

* * *

><p><em>Nice and Clean<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: PG13<br>Prompt: Shower  
>Word Count: 200<br>Note: Blame **girlinstilettos** for putting Selphie in my brain.

"It was HUGE! It had tentacles and jingle bells and everything! Like a giant squid, but with this thing that looked like a horn and a toilet brush attached to ..."

Covered in thick mud and too tired to talk, Xu and Quistis allowed Selphie to describe their harrowing mission to their commander.

"Then there was this explosion and the whole cavern fell on top of us! I had to climb out and I even cut my _thumb_, but poor Quisty, er, Officer Trepe _totally _had it worse than me. I could hear her moanin' and groanin' from all the way across the cave!"

Xu shifted her feet and looked with rather intense longing towards the exit.

"Thankfully Xu was there to help her! That mean ol' monkey-squid had torn most of Quisty's clothes right off!"

Quistis bit her lower lip when Squall's gaze traveled from the top of her head to her belly. From her navel to her hemline, there was a thin trail free from mud.

The fact that Xu's lips were free from dirt didn't pass his notice either.

"So yeah, they totally need medals or somethin'."

Squall almost smiled.

"It looks like they need showers, Selphie."

* * *

><p><em>Bet<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: PG13<br>Prompt: Win  
>Word Count: 300<br>Note: Ever wondered how Xu managed to survive Time Compression? Surely she didn't go through time and space just to play cards...  
>Did she? Hmm...<p>

_You know, if this bitch thinks I'm going to give up just because she made the sky all swirly, then she better think again._

_I've got a bet going, you see. No stuck-up sorceress with horns on her head is going to scare me away, not when I've got a chance to wrap my tongue around the perkiest set of nip..._

_Er..._

_I mean..._

_See, the thing is... Quistis beat me in that last round of cards, but she cheated. I showed up at her place, like always, with my deck of cards and a bottle of tequila. We normally have dinner and a few drinks, then we play a few rounds of Triple Triad. It's a nice way to pass the time. Quistis is a real sharp gal with a real quick mind. Smart, you see. Doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes, either._

_So there we were, playing cards and sharing a few laughs, and just like always, I ended up drinking too much while she kept scooting closer to me._

_It wasn't MY fault that I dropped my cards in her lap. She's the one that was blowing in MY ear, before you get any ideas about me._

_So yeah, I lost that match._

_Not my fault, though._

_When I held my deck out to her so she could pick the card she wanted, she cheated again. Most folks just snatch the card with the higher numbers, but not her. No, she leans a bit closer and licks my throat, then she snags my favorite card and sticks it to the spot she just licked._

_She told me I could win it back, but this is where I have a problem._

_How can I win my card back if this whore is trying to end time?_

* * *

><p><em>Invasion<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Prompt: Alien<br>Rating: M  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: If the er, alien part of this isnt obvious, then go to a shop where they sell novelties and I guarantee you'll find the same model of spaceship Xu was piloting.

"Um..."

"Yeah..."

"That was interesting."

"Yes. Very, er, interesting..."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"What? Heh. No."

"Are you sure? I didn't mean to get so into it, but you looked so..."

"Believe me, I definitely was _not_ screaming in pain."

"Uh...yeah."

"It just surprised me a bit when you um..."

"Yeah..."

"Um...do you want me to help you take it off?"

"Hm? No, I think I can manage."

"Are you sure? You're kind of shaking..."

"Well, so are you."

"It just makes you look so..."

"Looks weird, doesn't it?"

"Yes, almost alien or something."

"Yeah..."

"Um...my turn now?"

* * *

><p><em>One More<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Prompt: Pain<br>Rating: R  
>Word Count: 300<p>

Hyne was a bastard.

Quistis was firmly convinced of this fact and no amount of aspirin and black coffee could convince her otherwise. The sun was created by that gloating twat simply to fry her retinas and send her into the darkest pits of the most distant nether-realms of hangover hell.

"Cheers, darling! Tie another one on?"

And if Hyne happened to be a bastard, then Xu was a chipper little bitch with a suspiciously wide smile on her face. How the bloody hell she was even _thinking_ about another drink after the rather murky events of the previous evening…

Groaning, Quistis squinted at Xu and wondered if she could convince her to sew her eyelids together before she went into work. At least then she wouldn't be forced to look at the unsightly runs in her pantyhose and the strange bruises on her thighs. Hmm. Had they been chocobo riding last night? That would explain the long golden feather stuck in her hair when she slithered out of bed. Before they finished that third bottle of wine, hadn't Xu mentioned how much she would like to skip the saddle and ride a certain long-legged blonde chocobo? "Ugh. Didn't you have enough last night?"

Had Xu's grin been a woman, it would have been arrested and shackled for criminal indecency the moment her teeth were exposed. "Hardly, dear. Seems that I've developed a most obscene appetite for this marvelously sweet..."

"Just…urgh. Be quiet."

"Aw, whatever is the matter, darling?"

Bitch.

"Shut it. My head hurts, my lips are parched…"

"Let me do now what I did last night and I can guarantee that at least one of your problems will be solved…"

Bitch.

Wait.

Quistis opened one eye and was met with a very lewd smile.

"Er… just _one_ more?"


	10. Chapter 10

_The Suit_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisFujin  
>Prompt: Clothing<br>Word Count: 100  
>Rating: TPG 13

"Fujin?"  
>"YES?"<br>"Don't you think you're exposing an awful lot of skin?"  
>"NO."<br>"I know you want to show off your tan, but I can see...well, everything."  
>"AND?"<br>"It really looks amazing on you, but..."  
>"BUT?"<br>"I can see your scar."  
>"SCAR?"<br>"You know...the one on your _thigh."_  
>"OH."<br>"Everyone will be staring at you."  
>"SO?"<br>"So, don't you think that you should cover yourself a little more before we hit the beach?"  
>"FIFTY."<br>"Yes, that will work fine for the UV rays, but I meant that you need to..."  
>"ONE-PIECE."<br>"Fu...an eyepatch doesn't count as a one-piece bathing suit."

* * *

><p><em>She Bop!<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisFujin  
>Prompt: Fear<br>Rating: M  
>Note: I hope everyone likes Cyndi Lauper<p>

All night.  
>First, it was the pounding against the walls, then those absolutely unholy screams, then...silence.<br>Quistis placed her glasses on her perfect nose and reached underneath her bed for her baseball bat.  
>She wasn't sure what she might discover in the neighboring dorm, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to effectively use her trusted whip in such close quarters.<br>A too-fucking-close-for-comfort encounter with one of the more obsessed Trepies in her own room had taught her that lesson.  
>Stealthily slinking down the hall, she came to the door that surely concealed a grisly crime scene. Hand on the knob, she was going to knock first and enter swinging, but a throaty moan sounded from behind the door.<br>She hesitated.  
>Was that Fujin? What had happened? Had she been attacked? Would she be stretched out on the bed, bound and tortured by a madman?<br>Terrified, Quistis kicked down the door and flew to Fujin's bedroom, certain that she would discover her bloody, mangled corpse...  
>Ummm...<p>

"WHAT?"

"I uh, didn't mean to barge in, but I heard a noise and..."

"LEAVE."

"Umm, yeah I can see that you're..."

"BUSY."

"I think "busy" is the understatement of the century..."

"HYPOCRITE."

"What? I would never do, umm, that to myself."

"LIAR."

"No, really! I have no need to..."

"GLASSES."

"I beg your pardon!"

Fujin rolled off the bed and, ignoring the blush on Quistis' cheeks, pulled the glasses from her face. She grinned, then carefully placed them on her nightstand.

"I need those back. I can't see without them."

"BLIND."

"Well, not blind, but I'm certainly very near-sighted..."

The old cautionary tales of going blind from too much, umm...

"That's just a myth!"

"PATCH."

"I've always had bad vision!"

Fujin raised a single eyebrow.

Quistis tried to ignore that rebellious lock of hair that was clinging just so above Fujin's eyepatch, but coupled with the sheen of sweat on her skin and that very intense gaze, she found that ignoring her was impossible.

"It is just an old wives' tale, isn't it?"

Fujin chuckled and resumed her position on the bed.

"NO."

Quistis swallowed hard.

"So, does this mean that we're going to both go blind?"

With a very come-hither or else look, Fujin slid over so that Quistis could squeeze in beside her.

"CURE."

"A cure exists? Really?"

"YES."

"Oh that's fantastic! What do I have to dooooo?"

Fujin rolled her eye. Yeesh. And she hadn't even started yet...

"CURE."

Quistis looked at Fujin's more-than-willing face, then looked down to her more-willing-than-that hands, then looked at her...dear sweet lord, her mouth...

"Ooooh! I believe I understand! To balance the karmic energy, one must negate the ocular damage caused by a narcissitic form of expression in which sexual pleasure is obtained by neglecting the needs of a partner in order to..."

Fujin blinked twice.

"WHAT?"

"Oh, never mind. Slide over. I want to perform a little experiment that might benefit us both."


	11. Chapter 11

_The Union_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: AdelRinoa  
>Rating: M<br>Prompt: Unexpected  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: This is totally what Seifer said to Adel just before he snatched Rinoa. It's totally canon. Totally. They just didn't show the AMV when Adel burned Seifer's ass for questioning her gender. I mean, he was only 18 and had such little experience with the union of sorceresses, the poor innocent lad...

"You want me to do what now? In your what?"  
>"Er...can girls do that?"<br>"Really?"  
>"So you'll just...wait. I'm confused. Does she use her hand or what?"<br>"Really? Her mouth? That's kinda hot. I wonder if she's tried it with Trepe..."  
>"Sorry! I'm focusing! I swear!"<br>"Your what? Er, do you even have one of those?"  
>"Shit! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just that I thought you might be on hormones or something, since you're kind of manly, but that's a good thing!"<br>"Chill out! Yeah, the 'sorceresses joined as one.' I've rehearsed it over and over. I got it."


	12. Chapter 12

_Cold_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisFujin  
>Prompt: Wind<br>Words: 500  
>Rating: R, for suggested violence, though sadly, no sex.<p>

She had worn his coat for six days and she was beginning to stink.

Quistis knew it had been six days exactly, because the tower bells were still singing of the traitor's death and she had counted every chime.

Tower bells seemed to sound better from sidewalk cafe tables, so she sat and watched while she listened. Had it not been for the breeze choking the alley, she might have never been able to detect the scent of decay on that coat, but Fujin walked by and she could smell everything about her.

"Want some coffee?"

Fujin jumped and Quistis wondered if she should feel pity for her. The holes in that coat were stiff with blood. One seemed almost green, as if Seifer's belly might have been pierced by a determined Trabian bullet and the wound was happy to whisper of what the prisoner had for his last breakfast.

"Coffee. You know, caffeinated liquid. Comes in a cup."

"NO."

Quistis shrugged and sipped her Dolletian espresso. It was excellent, black and biting and strong, just the thing to slice the chill of the Trabian wind to whimpering shreds.

"It's very cold this morning."

"YES."

"This coffee would warm you right up. I'm buying, so why don't you try some? It's very good."

Fujin shook her head and burrowed deeper into her coat.

Defiant.

Cold and wearing the stinking coat of a trapped beast, Fujin leaned into the wind and dared it to blow harder. A final 'fuck you' to Pandemona and a final tribute to her fallen hero.

Quistis watched her and thought she was beautiful.

"Were you there?"

Fujin didn't need to ask where.

"How did you manage to get his..."

"MINE."

Quistis glanced over to the neighboring table and the happy couple staring at the odd girl with the patch and the gray coat. She wondered if they even noticed that her coat was covered in blood and bile. Could they even fucking recognize anything besides the stain of low-fat latte on khaki?

"Why is it yours?"

Fujin swallowed hard and Quistis noticed the bone-white line of salt on her eyepatch. She was jealous. It had been years since she had cried, years since she had remembered what it was like to be human. Fujin had one eye and had still managed to cry for her friend.

Quistis had just gone for another coffee.

"You know, we took the SeeD exam together, back when we were kids."

"NO."

"Oh, but we did. Seifer was there when I first...when I first..."

Dust and ice blew around Fujin's ankles as she watched Quistis stir her empty coffee. She had heard that story many times, how Seifer held Quistis when she killed her first soldier and how he cried to see her weep.

She looked down at her coat, then removed it and covered Quistis' shoulders.

"WINDY."

Quistis smiled and let Fujin lead her away from the coffee shop. It was too cold to sit outside and listen to bells.


	13. Chapter 13

_Impatience_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu, but implied Kadowaki/Quistis  
>Rating: R<br>Prompt: Taboo  
>Word Count: 500<br>Note: Since the prompt is taboo, I took something from canon that could easily be twisted. For this one, it's how much time two characters spend with Quistis and how that could be interpreted. If you pay attention to the relationships in the Card Club in Balamb Garden, then you'll see the very distinct similarities between Kadowaki and Xu. There are a couple of things that one could consider taboo in this drabble, so let's see if anyone wants to guess at them. They're pretty damned obvious, but I'm curious to see what people might say.

"She did what now?"

Quistis teasingly drummed her fingers along Xu's ribs before she began rubbing her back in earnest. "She taught me how to play cards."

"Is that a euphemism for something?"

One rib, two ribs, three ribs, four. Hm. Xu exercised too much. Quistis decided that she needed to eat a little better. She would make certain that she did once she finished the massage. Of course, if Xu still wondered about silly euphemisms after_that..._

"No, silly. She really did teach me how to play."

"I thought..."

Quistis pressed harder once she reached Xu's hips.

"Thought what?"

Muscles trembled under tanned skin. Quistis frowned. She didn't like the way Xu pushed herself sometimes and she really didn't like the way she winced at such simple contact.

"Well, you know..."

Xu closed her eyes when Quistis' fingers started to move in slow, gentle circles. She hadn't meant to overdo it at the gym, but sometimes she felt very inadequate. A few more laps at the pool, a few extra miles on the treadmill, a few more crunches. It was never enough, though. If she hadn't loved Quistis the way she did, she would have hated her. Nothing was ever enough. Not for women like her, even when Quistis made it seem like it was.

"Know what?"

"Uh, you know how she used to look at you, so..."

Quistis laughed. "She didn't molest me, if that's what has you so worried."

Xu laughed with her. What else could she do? She was painfully transparent sometimes. "That's not what I..."

Leaning forward and pressing her lips against Xu's shoulder, she mumbled, "She wanted to, though."

"She what?"

Quistis worked her fingers into the soft skin just under Xu's hairline. She lovingly stroked the dark down on the nape of her neck and purred, "Oh yes. Not at first, I don't think. After I beat her in cards that day she treated me with a little more respect, but even then it was a few years before I noticed the difference. It took me quite a while to figure out why she always insisted I assist her after class, but one day she..."

Xu rolled onto her side so she could see those blue eyes she adored so much. "What did she do?"

"She touched my shoulder."

"That's _it?_"

Quistis shrugged. "You wouldn't say that if you had seen her face that afternoon."

Was that shame in her voice? Surely not.

"How could you tell that she..."

"That she wanted me?"

Xu didn't want to know, but her silence was mistaken for permission to continue.

"Well, it was just little things. She'd watch me while I was filing her paperwork, almost the same way you stare at me sometimes."

Kadowaki was a vile, disgusting woman to fall in love with such a young girl, but that made Xu wonder about herself. Three years older than Quistis, she had impatiently waited for her eighteenth birthday.  
>It appeared she wasn't the only one.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Tick Tock<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: Trepie # 1Quistis  
>Prompt: Precious<br>Rating: PG13  
>Word Count: 200<br>Note: You know when you win a battle with only one or two party members remaining? The body of the slain party member just kind of settles at the bottom of the screen while the other characters celebrate as if nothing happened. I always noticed, but it never bothered me until I played FFVIII and had Squall as default party leader. I can imagine all other party leaders at least trying to see to the bodies of their fallen comrades, but not him. So that's kind of what's up with Trepie # 1 in this one. Seems that there are two # 1 Trepies, a male in the cafeteria and a female in the classroom. The female Trepie # 1 is the one that asks, "Are you looking out for Instructor Trepe? I KNOW, you know!"

"Squall! God, I'm so glad to see you! It's been insane! We've been working on a welcome home party for Instructor Trepe and thought you might like to…  
>Wait…<br>Wh-where is she?  
>Where is she?<br>No…please _no_.  
>B-but I told you to watch out for her. I told you to take care of her.<br>And y-y-you just _shrugged_, like you always did when she so _graciously_ acknowledged you in class, like you always did when she _helped _you over and over and _over again!  
><em>I told you how much she meant to us…how precious she is.  
>Was.<br>No. Is.  
>How much she means to <em>me<em>…  
>Oh God, please no…<br>And _you! _You just crawl back here and you didn't even bring her b-b-b... her b-bod…_her_with you! _Where is she? Where did you leave her? _Don't try to push by me like that! I don't fucking _care _about that bitch following you! I don't _care _if she's exhausted! Who is she anyway?Where is Instructor Trepe?  
>A <em>marlboro<em>? How? B-b-but she's been killing those since she was _fourt__een! _  
>Oh God, she's really gone.<br>All of us Trepies warned you before you left. _I told you _to watch out for her…"


	14. Chapter 14

_Memories_

Fandom: FFVIII

Pairing: Ma Dincht/Cafeteria Lady

Rating: R

Prompt: NPC

Word Count: 300

Note: Yeah...this felt wrong. Just so you all know, I considered being ashamed of myself for writing this, but I got over it.

"Well doc, I guess my love affair with hot dogs began when I was a child..."

Quistis clenched her jaw and waited for Zell to continue. These...therapy sessions were proving to be very taxing.

For one thing, she wasn't a doctor.

For another, she had no idea how he got in her room. She suspected Xu let him in, though she had no proof.

Yet.

"I remember lonely nights in the cafeteria, cuddled up next to the steam table..."

"Oh God. Not this again."

"I could hear my ma whispering in the darkness..."

"Zell, if you have any love for me, please don't tell me this story again."

"She's talking to another woman..." Zell's lip began quivering as he recalled a long-ago conversation. "They...seem to be arguing, fighting even, but it's so dark..."

Quistis groaned.

"I hear these...muffled grunts, so I run to the back to help my ma, but she meets me at the door..."

The window was open, but Quistis' room was only on the third floor. Suicide wasn't an option.

"They were wrestling on a...a steel counter, the long industrial kind, you know, but instead of kneading dough, like she said they were gonna do..."

"Zell, that wasn't..."

"So I ask my Ma what's going on, just _why _she needed to beat up the cafeteria lady that always fed me extra hot dogs..."

Quistis raised her eyes to the ceiling in a plea for mercy. "Hyne? Please. Kill me now."

Zell stammered and tears gathered in his eyes. "Ma told me that they were busy. She said they were gonna butter each others' bread, so she patted me on the head and gave me another hot dog, told me to wait in the dining room like a good boy..."

"Maybe you should see a real shrink, Zell."


	15. Chapter 15

_Taste_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: SelphieEden, and hinted Selphie/Quistis  
>Rating: R<br>Prompt: Ghost  
>Word Count: 400<p>

Note: I've read _The Last Unicorn _every winter since I learned how to read. If you know that book, then you'll recognize some of Eden's desire to remember. Also, Eden's power is called Devour, which is almost frightening to me, especially since Selphie has Devour as one of her limit breaks.

_I smell her on you. You've eaten your fill and you still want more. Such a hungry little girl._

_"Leave me alone."_

_She was delicious, wasn't she? Much different than those creatures that taste of salt and earth..._

_"She wasn't..."_

_Then why are you still licking your lips, child? You enjoyed her, didn't you?_

_"I didn't..."_

_How was she? It's been centuries since I last tasted a woman..._

_"It's not like that!"_

_Oh really?_

_"She's my friend! It's not...we're not..."_

_Tell me. I've forgotten wine and song. I've forgotten air and water. Tell me her taste so that I can remember..._

_"She was..."_

_She's asleep. She'll never hear you. I heard her cry when you were ..._

_"That's not the same thing."_

_Oh?_

_"That sort of cry isn't anything at all like those you tear out of people."_

_Mmm. So I tear, do I? Well child, you've torn something from her that she will never replace._

_"I didn't..."_

_Oh, but you did. When she wakes, do you think she'll look on you as just her 'friend'?_

_"But she..."_

_She is one of the old ones. She is a vessel, an urn, but she is never meant to be filled._

_"But I could help her. I could give her what she..."_

_It's the magic, child. The pulse of blue in the old ones. They can never be happy with what is given. Gifts such as your love are not for them. They take and tear and rip and devour, eating the spirit of the earth and spitting the bones upon the sand..._

_"Like how you devour?"_

_Hmm. It is similar, I suppose. Though I hunger for more than spirits. I have had enough of that._

_"And you want me to be the one to tell you about her."_

_Oh yes. I grow weary of drinking the wine from the empty bottle. Memories can only carry their flavor for so long before they become ghosts as well._

_"Well, you act like you know everything about her anyway, so why are you even asking me about her?"_

_Child, I can taste her for myself and make her scream. I can nestle in your mind and taste the world again, the berries and the clouds, the woodsmoke and blood and ash and cinders..._

_"Why are you doing this?"_

_I want to remember. Even the guardians crave the ghosts of what is denied us, child._


	16. Chapter 16

_Planting a SeeD_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: M<br>Prompt: Dress-up  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: Inspired by the fucked up relationship between Juri and Shiori in _Revolutionary Girl Utena_. I can _easily _imagine a jealous, possibly lovestruck Xu whispering to Cid, telling him that Quistis just isn't working out as an instructor. It wouldn't be hard, would it?

She had always been clever.

Her instructors often wondered why she had never entered politics. With her quick mind and nimble tongue, she would have had Galbadia on her knees, but she remained a lowly assistant at Garden.

Such a clever girl.

Such wasted talent.

She heard them whisper, but paid them no mind. She was far too keen on watching another clever girl to care about them.

A _very _clever girl.

Brilliant, even.

Lovely.

She watched Quistis, became her friend.

_There, there, dearest. Sit next to me. Tell me what's wrong..._

Clever little Xu with her clever little traps.

* * *

><p><em>Two Side Triad<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu  
>Rating: TPG 13  
>Prompt: New<br>Word count: 500

She hadn't meant to get her new friend so drunk, but when a certain beautiful someone that happened to be the most brilliant dumb bitch Xu had ever met shattered every academic record at Balamb Garden, then meant-to and want-to somehow became one and the same.

Besides, Quistis was cute as hell when she was giggling and tipsy, even if she had beaten every goddamned record Xu had ever set.

"What is this stuff, anyway?"

Xu squinted at the bottle in Quistis' hands. It had a saucy look, that bottle with its fancy label. No dignified label would ever prance about in such a manner, with such whorish curly letters. Snatching the bottle and guzzling a couple of hasty swigs, she coughed, "Not real sure, but I think it was grain in a past life."

Ugh. Quistis had tasted her dear daddy's sweet, sweet brandy on those nights he insisted that his princess looked so very chilly and needed to be held extra close, but this clear fire of Xu's was much different than his warm amber comfort.

Picking up her strange new cards, she tried to remember that she was playing with Xu, her new friend that wasn't going to hurt her, no sir, not one bit. Those days were long gone and that man was far away. Now she had only to make good grades so they would keep her at this new school, this pretty garden with its flowers and vines.

"Well, that's fine, but what do I do when you have so many fire elementals on the table?"

Xu slid a bit closer to her new friend and looked at the cards in her hand. She really was very pretty, this new girl with the golden hair and the strange foreign eyes. She knew that blue eyes existed, of course, but the girls with blue eyes were fairy tales, witches in storybook pages that summoned fire from earth and water from wind. Quistis was just cute and blonde, with that Trabian blood that was so rare in Balamb. There was nothing odd about her. She was just Quistis.

Resting her chin on Quistis' shoulder, Xu tried to teach her a new rule she learned from the old woman at the wharf, but it was difficult to teach when she was so sweet and so soft, so pretty and new.

"We could try playing something else, you know."

"I think that we may be experiencing the intoxi-intoxicat..."

Xu offered the bottle to her new playmate and watched those perfect pink lips form an even more perfect O around the smooth glass as she took another burning sip of vodka. "Mmm, I think you're drunk, princess."

Quistis stiffened and set the bottle on the table. "Don't call me that."

Confused, but unwilling to relinquish her position, Xu kissed her cheek and asked, "What? Drunk?"

"No. Don't ever call me a princess."

"What?" Something told Xu to move back, to take her own cards. "Why?"

"I'm not a princess."

* * *

><p><em>Instructor<em>

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisXu, even though Seifer has more lines in this wee dialogue  
>Prompt: Romance<br>ETA: And at the urging of our beautiful mod, I added this to the curse prompt as well.  
>Rating: R<br>Word Count: 500  
>Note: I love obscure canon. Quistis doesn't technically have a mate in the game, but I think she has two real contenders in Seifer and Xu. Yes, this is a yuri community, but this isn't about Seifer. This is about Quistis and what Xu needs to realize in order to be what Seifer had been to Quistis in the past. There are hints all over FFVIII that show both characters head over heels for the lovely instructor, though only Seifer seems to really understand who Quistis really is. So try to think of this as a piece about growth and maturation..with the word fuck!<p>

"You're going to give her _flowers?"  
><em>  
>"What's wrong with flowers?"<p>

"It's stupid. She'll see right past it. If that's all it took, then she'd be fucking her Trepies on a daily basis."

"Then how would you seduce her, Mr. Romance?"

"See? That. That's exactly why you'll never get any pussy."

"Don't be crude."

"You just said this was_ Operation:_ _Pussy Procurement_, ya fucking bitch!"

"But that was me saying it! I meant it with affection!"

"Believe me, sister. I'd mean it with affection too."

"Ugh, I fucking hate you."

"I hate you too."

"Fine."

"Great."

"..."

"...fucking uppity bitch..."

"What was that?"

"Nothin'."

"So...no flowers then?"

"Nope. Not for her, anyway."

"What should I use then?"

"You mean to tell me you've been her best friend for this fucking long and you still don't know how to win her over?"

"If I fucking knew, do you honestly think I would have descended into this stinking hellhole to ask you, of all people?"

"Hey! I like this apartment! If you don't like it, then get the hell out."

"Alright, alright. Yes. That's exactly what I mean. I don't know what to do when it comes to her."

"You think too much. That's your problem. Trepe thinks enough for twenty people. She doesn't need another thinker."

"Just because she's intelligent doesn't mean that..."

"Wanna know what I did to bang that blonde bitch?"

"Ugh. Don't remind me."

"Don't interrupt. I hate that shit."

"Fine. What did you do? I've got to admit, I've always been curious. You're not her type at all."

"Nope. I'm a bastard. A real prick."

"Fine. Tell me about it."

"How many times have you tried to be sweet to her, Xu? Ever since you were kids, right?"

"That's not..."

"Bullshit. I've seen those puppy looks you give her all the time."

"Puppy looks?"

"Yeah. Big brown puppy eyes. Like a fucking puppy that's been kicked by her master."

"Mistress."

"Whatever. Point is, you're a goddamned bitch, not a puppy, so don't try to act like something you're not. She doesn't need a friend...or a dog."

"Well, she needs someone to think of her sometimes!"

"You're a fucking idiot. It's no wonder that she's never looked at you as anything other than a nice, friendly support system."

"Fuck you, Almasy."

"She did. She enjoyed it."

"Shut the hell up."

"No. You shut up. That twisted bitch needs something to work towards. You give her what she needs and she can't handle it. She has to take it _from_ you before it means anything _to_her. "

"That's crazy."

"Crazy or not, that's how she works."

"That's insane, but if it works..."

"It works. You need her, that's pretty fucking obvious. The trick is getting her to need you too."

"Why the hell are you even telling me this? Why don't you try to ..."

"Just don't fucking worry about it, okay?"

"But..."

"Just don't. Now get the hell out of here. Give her what I couldn't, alright?"


	17. Chapter 17

_Listening_

Fandom: FFVIII  
>Pairing: QuistisSiren  
>Rating: G<br>Prompt: Voice  
>Word Count: 100<br>Note: Okay, so whenever I play FFVIII I always assign Siren to Quistis. I always thought it was really odd that Siren's attack was called Silent Voice and poor Quistis just wanted someone to listen to her. They've a lot of similarities, those gals. Funny, ain't it?

Her fingers were clumsy their first time touching the harp.  
>With patience and gentle urging, they soon grew stronger, able to pluck mournful melodies from silent silver strings. They only faltered when the waves lapped at their ankles, the lessons forgotten in laughter.<br>Her teacher would smile, saying nothing as she quietly guided her hands back to the instrument.  
>They continued like this for years, long after the girl's fair hair was white as salt.<br>On that last day, when Quistis wasn't waving from the shore, Siren didn't play.  
>She finally sang as she dropped the harp into the sea.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

_Dreams_

Pairing: Ultimecia/Edea  
>Fandom: FFVIII<br>Rating: M  
>Prompt: Dreams<br>Word Count: 300  
>Note: Before reading this, I highly recommend everyone listen to <em>Dreams, <em>written by my all-time favorite singer and songwriter-the amazing Stevie Nicks. That song_is _Ultimecia, at least to me, and I used one line that seemed very apt for this drabble. Try to listen to a recording from around 1976-77, as Stevie's voice started to weaken after this point due to snorting far too much blow during her time with Fleetwood Mac. And yes, I was once again influenced by _The Last Unicorn_.

There is a beginning that always starts once upon long-forgotten time.

Of course, if there is a beginning then there must be an end as well, whether it be happy or sad. Such is the state of all things.

The middle? One has to search far and wide if one wants to know the tale itself, if one truly desires to know how the beginning courts the end. After all, the present is a tricky creature, all churning chaos at that place where the foam meets the shore.

You've seen that place, haven't you? Heard the hiss of the fairy serpent as she learns the rough caress of the sand? The sands have marked her, claimed her for their own, yet when she bears the scars of their embrace, they force her to seek the innocence she abandoned. She tries to retreat to the quiet darkness beneath the waves, yet she is forever tossed to the shore, no longer welcomed by the tortured creatures that once danced with her. The purest white is stained with blood and she is no longer able to charm the great horned beast with her song.

The bards would have you believe that maidens become mothers, then wrinkle and die as witches and crones. But what of those on the cusp that feel the moon's pull and spend eternity in the middle?

This is what I have found in you, my dearest love.

Reflect on your childhood.

Time...it will not wait.

No matter how you hold on, it escapes you.

Listen carefully to the sound in the stillness of remembering what you had and what you lost.

Don't weep, my queen. Those tears you shed will never fill another sea, no matter that they taste the same as the water you left so long ago.


End file.
